Gas Dispersion Characteristics in a Novel Jet-Stirring Coupling Flotation Device

A jet-stirring coupling flotation device (JSCFD) was proposed to analyze the distribution characteristics of gas holdup and bubble Sauter mean diameter (D ₃₂) in a gas-liquid system under various parameters. Results of studies suggested that the gas holdup increased with methyl isobutyl carbinol concentration, feeding pressure, and gas flow rate. The maximal gas holdup in the absence of the stirring impeller was ∼23.29% for the bubble size of 0.59 mm, which was considerably lower than the maximum gas holdup of 66.27% for the bubble size of 0.31 mm in the presence of the stirring impeller; the gas holdup was raised by ∼43% due to the bubbles torn by the stirring impeller to generate extensive smaller size bubbles and increase the content of small bubbles, and increasing the stirring impeller speed was conducive to reduce the bubble size and increase the gas holdup in JSCFD. Compared to traditional flotation machines, the size of bubbles generated by JSCFD was smaller, and the gas holdup distribution conforms to the following order: JSCFD > mechanical flotation machine > column flotation, which demonstrated that the JSCFD had a noticeable effect on increasing the gas holdup and reducing the bubble size.